Tobyhanna Army Dept to close on Fridays in response to budget cuts

Tobyhanna Army Depot has notified its 3,500–plus civilian employees that Friday, July 12, will be the first day employees are furloughed under the Congressional sequester.

The depot plans to shut down industrial operations for 11 straight Fridays — 88 hours — through Sept. 20, depot commander Col. Gerhard P.R. Schröter said. Those Fridays will serve as the furlough day for the vast majority of Tobyhanna’s workforce.

In May, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that more than 600,000 Department of Defense civilians will be furloughed for 11 non-consecutive days, as a result of the budget sequestration.

Work performed by personnel at the installation and its forward repair locations has already been impacted by sequestration resulting in reductions to the fiscal year 2013 third and fourth quarter depot maintenance programs.Tobyhanna’s original fiscal 2013 plan of $824 million in workload has been revised to $742.1 million, a reduction of $82 million.

Depot officials have already implemented a number of initiatives to address the declining workload, including a freeze on hiring new employees, restricted purchases of supplies, limited travel, and modified plans to modernize and upgrade depot facilities and equipment.

In addition, 310 Tobyhanna employees accepted early retirement offers in March, May and June, with 333 contractors released since Oct. 1.